Tokyo, Mar 19: Asian shares were mixed Wednesday ahead of a decision on interest rates by the US Federal Reserve.
US futures edged higher while oil prices declined.
Japan reported that it logged a trade surplus in February, with exports rising more than 11 per cent. The Japanese central bank opted to keep its benchmark rate unchanged, as expected. The Fed also is expected to hold rates steady.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2 per cent to 37,900.88 after the central bank decided to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5 per cent. The US Federal Reserve is also expected to keep rates steady.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2 per cent to 24,777.01, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching down less than 0.1 per cent to 3,427.76.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.3 per cent to 7,836.80. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9 per cent to 2,634.60.
Much attention will focus Wednesday on forecasts the Fed will publish after its meeting, showing the outlook for interest rates, inflation and the economy. For now, traders on Wall Street are largely expecting the Fed to deliver two or three cuts to rates by the end of 2025.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.1 per cent to 5,614.66 for its latest swerve in a scary ride, where it tumbled by 10 per cent from its record and then rallied for two straight days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 per cent to 41,581.31, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.7 per cent to 17,504.12.
Tesla was one of the heaviest weights on the market, falling 5.3 per cent. The electric-vehicle maker’s stock has been struggling due to declining sales and worries over anger toward its CEO Elon Musk, who has been leading efforts to cut spending by the US government.
EV rivals, meanwhile, continue to chip away at its business. China’s BYD on Monday announced an ultra-fast charging system that it says is nearly as quick as a gasoline fill-up.
Alphabet sank 2.2 per cent after the owner of Google said it would buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for USD 32 billion. It would be the company’s most expensive purchase in its 26-year history, and it could boost the tech giant’s in-house cloud computing amid burgeoning artificial-intelligence growth.
The drop for Big Tech continues a trend that’s taken hold in the market’s recent sell-off: Stocks whose momentum had earlier seemed unstoppable have since dropped sharply following criticism they had simply grown too expensive.
Chief among them have been stocks that zoomed higher in the frenzy around AI technology. Nvidia fell 3.3 per cent as it hosted an event known as “AI Woodstock.” Super Micro Computer, which makes servers, lost 9.6 per cent. Palantir Technologies, which offers an AI platform for customers, sank 4 per cent.
They’ve been among the biggest losers as Wall Street retrenches amid uncertainty about what US President Donald Trump’s trade war will do to the economy. Trump’s rat-a-tat announcements on tariffs and other policies have created worries that US households and businesses could hold pull on their spending, which would hurt the economy.
It all makes things more complicated for the Federal Reserve, which is beginning its latest meeting on interest-rate policy and will make its announcement on Wednesday.
Virtually everyone expects the Fed to stand pat. Cutting its main interest rate would make it easier for US businesses and households to borrow, helping to boost the economy. But lower interest rates can also push inflation upward, and US consumers shell-shocked by high prices have already begun bracing for even higher inflation because of tariffs.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude fell 26 cents to USD 66.65 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 23 cents to USD 69.89 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar edged up to 149.42 Japanese Yen from 149.25 Yen. The Euro cost USD 1.0941, down slightly from USD 1.0946. (AP)
